


This Kind of Beautiful

by bittersweetsymphonia



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 12:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3209603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetsymphonia/pseuds/bittersweetsymphonia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Zetas dig up someone new from the Lustic Building and it's not definitely not someone Danny expects to find.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Kind of Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> It’s not proofread and is my first try at writing for Carmilla, but I hope it’ll be fine.

You hate the shit that seems to be your life these days.

Your supposed to be girlfriend is spending the break with a neat freak and two people you hate the most – a wannabe biologist who's nothing but a bad influence on Laura, and a centuries old vampire who'd played her part in the deaths of virgins for all her undead life.

The worst part is, you saw it coming the very day that Carmilla became Laura's roommate. Somehow, she got those 'seduction eyes' working for her.

What do you have? Oh yeah, power to give Laura an extra few days on her Lit paper. And you even blew that, didn't you?

At least you still have the Summer Society.

They didn't abandon you when you all discovered exactly how messed up your university was. In fact, the tussle with the dean and her evil cult only made your sisterly bond stronger. Stabbing vampires with wooden stakes turned out to be the best form of initiation, and now nothing can break the connection you all had forged.

And you don't dare forget the mission every sister of the Summer Society had taken up: To hunt the monsters lurking around Silas and put them out of their worthless existence.

No monster – whoever or whatever they were – would be spared.

That vampire lurking around Laura would be added to the list some day, your sisters had assured you.

You pause from your shovelling and look around you. In the midst of the ruins of the Lustic Building, you see your sisters tirelessly digging up the remains of the fallen theatre. Each one of them has smiles on their faces as they chat with each other, some occasionally sensing your gaze on them and would give you a small wave.

This is what you have now, and they wouldn't ever betray you. You each have each other's back, and you'd come raining down like hell on the supernatural.

You attack the dirt yet again, sinking the head of your shovel into the ground.

Thoughts of the supernatural only serves to remind you of your broken heart.

“Hey, Summer Bro,” you soon hear.

The obnoxiously Neanderthal-ish voice paired with that stupid nickname pushes you to the edge even further. But you take a deep breath and count to ten. There is no need to bring your anger out on Kirsch. He's only trying to help, even if he does look ridiculous while doing so.

And yes, maybe in a way you symphatize with him. You both lost loved ones to vampires.

You exhale and wipe the sweat off your brow before turning to him, a questioning look already in place. By the smile on his face, you prepare yourself for more stupid comments about the hotties in the Summer Society (excluding you of course, since you're a bro).

“We found someone.”

And just like that, your heart stops.

The last time you heard that, they dug up Carmilla.

When you saw her again, looking at the very edge of being dead for the last time, thoughts of the truce went straight out the window.

Once again, you take a deep breath and count to ten.

You only get to six before a thought makes you want to puke. It can't be the– “Is it the dean?” You hate how shaky and small your voice is. You want to chalk it up to being exhausted and not to the fear that wraps over your body like a cold blanket.

Thankfully, Kirsch shakes his head, albeit with a confused look on his face. “You don't think she'll come back, right?”

“I hope not,” you hear a nearby sister answer and agree with her statement.

“Cool,” Kirsch adds his own two cents before turning back to the topic at hand. His lips curve up into a goofy grin as he announces, “It's a hottie.”

Your brow arches up.

“Around 8.5 if you ask me,” a Zeta calls out from somewhere.

Now this has you dumbstruck. You don't know of anyone else with you when you confronted the cult of vampires, and all the members of the Summer Society are present and accounted for.

The questions bouncing around your head screech to a halt when the a Zeta comes up next to Kirsch with a limp body in his arms.

From your current position, you can see that the woman is small and petite, and the big, poofy nightdress she's wearing is hanging loose on one shoulder. It amazes you how pristine and white the silk of her nightdress is despite the fact that she'd been rescued from the rubble of a building.

You finally approach them, eyes locked onto the girl. Somehow, you feel as though you need to see her face – to determine who she is exactly. You see that her head is tucked in the Zeta's arms, and her wavy, golden locks blocks your view of her face.

You have no idea what possesses you to do it, but when the Zeta passes the woman over to you, you take her in your arms as if she were a lover coming home. You notice how light she is, and you can carry her bridal style with barely any trouble.

The movement causes her hair to move away from her face, and finally you see what she looks like.

Your breath catches in your throat.

It's at that moment that she finds it appropriate to stir awake. Her eyes blink open and her arms involuntarily tighten around your neck.

“Father?” she whimpers out.

Your knees almost buckle beneath you. “No,” you manage to croak out without stuttering. “My name is Danny. Who are you?”

Her eyes finally snap open and meets yours squarely on – hazel clashing with blue.

“Elle,” is what she whispers before she blacks out.

**xxx**

Somehow, you get charged with looking after her.

Elle sits primly on your bed, legs crossed in front of her and eyes on you as you pace the length of your room.

“What did you say your name was again?” you ask for what seems like the nth time now.

Elle doesn't seem to mind though. She answers in the same clipped tone she had every single time you asked her before. “It's Elle. Elizabeth Fournier.”

You pause your pacing and look at her – really look at her. She's pale and her eyes are sunken like she hadn't had a peaceful sleep in years – and she probably hasn't – but despite it, her beauty is still astounding. She holds herself as calmly as she can, but you can see the slight tremble that's taken over her hands.

Your question changes this time. “Are you okay?”

“It's Elle. Eli–” She catches herself mid-sentence before her eyes clear and she looks at you – really looks at you. “I'm fine.”

She's lying.

She's clearly not fine.

Before you can ask any further though, the door to your room slams open.

Still clad in Christmas sweaters, they file inside your room with wide eyes. You notice that it's Carmilla who's the closest to the door and the farthest from the blonde on your bed.

Involuntarily, your eyes find Elle, and you see how her entire body tenses and the slight tremor turns into a full on earthquake. You take a step towards her and place a hand on her shaking shoulder. You don't know why, but it works and the shaking lessens.

Carmilla's eyes follow your every movement like a hawk.

It's Elle that breaks the silence.

“Mircalla?”

For a moment, you're confused, but you soon remember what Carmilla did for her mother. Your anger flares up again.

A cold hand takes the one you'd placed on Elle's shoulder and squeezes it. For some reason, it brings a wave of calm over you, and you smile down at her.

Carmilla finds her voice soon after. “Elle, I–” Her voice breaks. Your eyes turn to Laura and see her eyes alternating between the two people trapped in time.

“Maybe we should give them some privacy to talk.” It's Perry that suggests it, and you find yourself agreeing. You take a step away from Elle, but stop when her grip on your hand tightens. You look back at her over your shoulder and see her eyes pleading with you to stay.

But you know you can't because they need this.

“I'll just be outside,” you assure her. She holds your gaze for a few beats before nodding and releasing your hand.

With a heavy heart, you turn your back to her and follow the others out.

The door closes behind you. You lean back on the wall next to it and eye the rest of the Dimwit Squad. You've got to admit you miss them.

But whatever you're feeling for them doesn't compare to how much you already miss the blonde left inside your room with the girl who stole the girl you'd given your heart to.

It surprises you how it's LaFontaine who notices. “You sure you want to leave them alone?”

You look back at the mahogany door and make a decision. “I'm sure.” You give them a small smile – just a little upturn of the lips – before you turn back to Perry and Laura, gesturing to the common room. “Want some gingerbread?”

**xxx**

The door to your room doesn't open even after the thirty minutes the four of you took to have some non-gingerbread snacks. LaFontaine has their ear against the door with Perry by their side, harshly whispering about how what they're doing is wrong. You can't help the small chuckle that bubbles up because despite her words, Perry's ear is against the door too.

You want to make a joke, or even a playful comment, just to break the tension. Normally, you wouldn't do such a thing, but your heart is pounding against your chest and you can't tear your eyes away from your door.

Beside you, you can feel a similar aura of anxiety. “Why do you think they're taking so long?” you hear Laura say before you can turn to her.

LaF beats you in replying, “They have hundreds of years to catch up on.”

You can almost hear the gears turning in Laura's head. You really do know her the best. Or maybe, you just fear the same thing.

Fear? Now that strikes you as odd. Why would you fear that possibility? If it happened, then Laura would turn to you again.

No, you can't bear to see Laura hurt like that. No matter what.

Or at least, that's what you tell yourself.

You don't have time to dwell on your thought when a puff of dark smoke appeared against the wall next to Laura. In a second, it dissipated, revealing the vampire that was the protagonist of all your thoughts. Laura's arms immediately go to her, engulfing her in an embrace.

You tear your eyes away from the scene.

“Are you alright?” you hear a melodious voice whisper. You look to your side and see Elle there, worried eyes boring into your own.

“I'm fi–” The word catches in your throat as your eyes see the closed door to your room, with Perry and LaF still leaning against it – although their attention now is on Carmilla.

Wait. No. LaF's eyes aren't on Carmilla. They're on the blonde next to you.

You follow their gaze to Elle's feet. Surrounding her sandal-clad shoes is the remnants of black smoke.

“I didn't know you could teleport someone else with you,” LaF comments, her eyes still on Elle despite talking to Carmilla.

You mimic LaF and don't take your eyes off of Elle, who had averted her eyes from your heavy gaze. There was something wrong – something deathly wrong – but you can't quite put your finger on what it is.

You feel eyes on you – dark eyes, vampire eyes.

You find yourself staring back at hazel.

“No.” Your voice is a cracked whisper.

You find yourself taking a step back. Elle's hand moves from her side in an attempt to grab hold of you, but she stops herself. Her gaze turns back to the ground, but you don't see. You're already walking away, hating yourself for bringing another one of _them_ into your life.

**xxx**

Oddly, you find yourself across a table from Kirsch.

He's not saying anything, and for the first few minutes, it angers you. You came to him for help, even to just hear his imbecilic talk. But he just looks at you, studying you in a way no one ever thought he was capable of.

Soon, though, you learn that what he's doing – his silence – is actually what you need.

You just sit there, thinking.

You just saved Elle. Carmilla's Elle. Carmilla's Elle who was born three hundred years ago. Carmilla's Elle that's now a vampire, for some reason.

Carmilla's Elle.

Something about that irks you to no end.

Your phone rings from your pocket but you ignore it. There's more important matters to deal with right now, and part of you believes that it's only Laura or one of her friends calling.

You don't want to talk to any of them right now.

“So?” Kirsch finally says.

Your brow raises. So? What is it that he wants you to answer? What is it that you want to answer?

You stand up, hands in your pockets. “I don't know.” You start to walk away, but after a few steps, you look back and toss him a smile. “Thanks.”

He doesn't say anything. He just smiles. He's a good friend, and he's smarter than people give him credit for. You thank him for more than the silent talk. You thank him for knowing not to say anything. All you needed was someone to be on your side, and that has always been him.

**xxx**

Laura stares back at you.

She was happy then – a country girl who fell in love with her English Lit TA. You miss that Laura, but you can only see her in the images on your phone these days. Your Laura is gone. She was gone the very moment Carmilla entered her life.

And, just like that, all your problems go back to that damn, leather-rocking vampire.

Your grip on the phone tightens. You saw it all happen, and you didn't even do anything to stop it.

“ _And that's how it works  
That's how you lost the girl”_

You glare at the radio on your bedside table. Shut up, Taylor Swift.

Your radio meets the wall in a violent impact a second later. Still, the silence in your room is suffocating, so you open up your phone's music player and hit shuffle.

Music fills your ears as you stare at her, idly wondering if things would have worked out better if your fought for her. That's stupid. You did fight for her. It just wasn't enough.

“ _Rain came pouring down when I was drowning_ __  
That's when I could finally breathe  
And that morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean  
I think I am finally clean  
Said, I think I am finally clean.”

Your brow arches at your phone. Okay, Taylor, you're forgiven.

It feels liberating when you select the folder named 'Laura' and hit delete. You expected to miss her, but somehow, it's hazel eyes that swims in your vision and makes your heart clench as if it'd been caught in a vice grip.

**xxx**

You barge into Laura and Carmilla's room, earning yourself an exasperated sigh from its sole occupant. Your eyes turn sharply towards the lazing girl. You ignore the fact that the bed on the right side of the room is unused.

“Where is she?”

Carmilla plops back down against the yellow pillow. “The kitten went out with the ginger twins.”

You roll your eyes. “I meant Elle.”

This catches Carmilla's reaction. She sits up straight, her eyes boring into yours with an intensity that nears that of the demon light they'd fought. “What are your intentions with her?”

“With Elle? I intend to keep her from wandering away in a place she doesn't know.”

Carmilla isn't convinced with your answer. “She hates herself, you know.”

This gives you pause. “What?”

“Elle hates herself. She's always hated what I am. A _monster_.” Carmilla's disgust with what she is shows, and for a moment, you remember the truce. “And now she's a monster too.”

“She's not,” you find yourself responding without missing a beat.

Carmilla scoffs. “Yeah? Do you think she knows that? Especially after how you reacted to her before?”

And just like that, it dawns on you. “Shit.”

**xxx**

You've searched and asked all around, but no one has seen a blonde girl wearing a nightdress walking around. It's getting late and worry grips at your chest.

Where is she?

You run around, eyes wandering from left and right, not really looking at where you're going. That's why you don't see what's in front of you, only that you're falling face first into the ground. Cursing loudly, you glare at the offending objects.

What in the world is a shovel doing in the middle of a–

What are you doing in the Lustic Building ruins?

“Get back!”

Your head snaps up. Was that Lacey?

You immediately gather yourself up, ignoring the scratch on your arm. You sneak towards the epicenter of the voices – the hushed murmurs gradually growing louder with every step you take.

You see them as soon as you turn a corner. They haven't seen you yet so you decide to hide behind the wall, peeking at the scene before you.

Torches and wooden stakes, and a blonde girl in a white nightdress.

“Get back, I said!”

Elle does as she's forcefully told. She takes a step back, and trips on a rock, sending her landing on the ground. It's the look in her face that makes you want to cry. It's not fear for death. It's more of a resignation. It's understanding.

You hate that you're part of the reason such a look is tainting her face.

And just like that, you find the answer to the unspoken question.

You step out from behind the wall, head high and shoulders tight. “What the fuck are you guys doing?”

Lacey, your second in command, is looking at you as if you just asked what colour the sky is. “She's a monster. We're monster hunters. What's wrong with it?”

The word causes bile to rise up your throat. You find Elle's eyes again, and it makes you sick how she's asking you the same thing.

You take a deep breath and count to ten, calming yourself before you take a leap of fate. You get to six before impatience takes the better of you and you position yourself between the two forces.

“She's not a monster.”

Hazel meets blue again, and this time, it truly feels like coming home. “You're not a monster.”

“What are you talking about, Danny?” Lacey's voice is incredulous, but you don't blame her. Instead, you simply turn back towards her, spreading your arms.

“She's not a monster, and you won't ever lay a hand on her. If you want to, then you'll have to go through me.”

“Have you lost your mind?” It's Lacey's best friend talking, the one who suggested the whole monster hunter idea in the first place.

“Maybe. But you're not laying a hand on her.”

“Danny, stop.”

It's not any of the Summer Society sisters that says it. In fact, it comes from behind you, voice meek and watery. You look over your shoulder to see Elle's hand still extended towards you – reaching out but still afraid to hold on. You hate how insecure and disgusted with herself she looks, so you turn to her and grab her hand, ignoring her wide eyes, and help her up on her feet. You entwine your hands, your fingers fitting perfectly in the gaps between hers.

“She's not a monster,” you say again, hoping that both sides finally understand.

When Elle smiles and nods, her eyes clouded with unshed tears, you decide that it's only her that matters. It doesn't matter if the Summer Society still thinks she's a monster. You'd stand between them no matter what.

“Okay.”

You turn around so fast you're afraid you almost had a whiplash. “What?”

Lacey's smiling, and so are the other girls. The wooden stakes are on the ground and the torches are extinguished, leaving only the stars above to illuminate the night. Lacey's looking at your linked hands and nods. “Okay,” she repeats. “We've always only wanted what's best for you, sister.”

The tears come up without your consent. You force them not to fall, fearing the sign of weakness it shows. The girls from the Summer Society understands because you've been together for so long and they know you, but it's when Elle squeezes you hand in reassurance that the tears fall.

**xxx**

You love your life right now.

Your girlfriend is spending the break with you, learning about the modern world and all the marvels it possesses. The both of you have spent the last few hours watching a marathon of Orphan Black, with Elle being awestruck at how open the world is right now compared to her time. You cooked popcorn together, and the way Elle had looked when she first popped one into her mouth is perhaps the most adorable thing you've ever seen.

And the best part is, you think this kind of beautiful is going to last a long, long time.

**-END-**


End file.
